The Quinn Direct British Masters, held at The Belfry from September 20-23, will be used to help showcase the national initiatives developed by the Golf Foundation that aim to strengthen the future of the sport.
Up to 1,000 children from schools and golf clubs will visit the junior golf centre in the tented village as guests of the Golf Foundation, which is staging activities on behalf of England Golf, the national partnership that is working to grow the game.
Present at The Belfry will be pupils from the Hartismere partnership in Suffolk. The children will be playing a variety of games using Tri-Golf, the modified form of golf employing safe plastic clubs and soft balls, and the innovative equipment developed by Factory Eleven.
Another visiting school group, from the Windsor partnership in Birmingham, will contain youngsters who are moving successfully along the pathway from school golf to club golf.
Through the Golf Foundation’s Community Links programme, these youngsters have been supported as they progress from Tri-Golf and Golf Xtreme to coaching sessions at Halesowen Golf Club and Hagley Golf Club where they are working towards attaining full handicaps using the nationally recognised structured learning programme, the Junior Golf Passport, which teaches young beginners the basics of golf – putting, short game, long game, playing around a course and ‘the golfer’s code’.
In addition, 50 youngsters from the Dudley North East partnership in the West Midlands, will be enjoying a day trip to The Belfry.
Back at school they have been taking part in a ‘Virtual Golf Challenge’, playing in Tri-Golf and Golf Xtreme events and then posting their scores on a specially created website for the region.
Some 320 youngsters from 16 schools have been taking part in the eight-week competition and from this, 50 of the keenest youngsters will be selected for free coaching at Perton Park Golf Club.
Brendon Pyle, Development Manager for the Golf Foundation, said: “It’s great that we are able to stage junior activity at The Quinn Direct British Masters and show visitors more about what we do.
"Through our support of England Golf, many of our regional partnerships are now helping youngsters to move into playing golf at golf clubs, and that is the future of the game.
“In the first half of 2007, some 2,826 volunteers attended a Golf Foundation training workshop so they can introduce youngsters to golf. Many of these youngsters will join a club, have lessons from a PGA Professional and, hopefully, be golfers for life.”
The junior activities staged at The Belfry have been made possible thanks to the support of The European Tour, ISM and Factory Eleven’s events team.
